A. GP called ‘dirty doctor’ Man who had sex with multiple women in his practice and was banned from working as a doctor this year is no longer working as a psychotherapist with a different name, I Paper can reveal.

He blamed his behavior at the General Medical Council misconduct hearings on his sex addiction. Thomas Plimmer also showed an unsolicited video of himself having sex with one of the women to a young female colleague and placing his hand on his penis over her clothing. None of the women Dr Plimmer had sex with during his GP surgery were his patients.

But, I He discovered that Dr Plimmer had switched medications for psychotherapy, now using the name “Dr Matthew”, his middle name.

She promotes her services through her own business called “Mind, Body and Emotional Wellbeing” and her website promotes “therapeutic sessions” for £85. He also provides “supervision sessions” for other psychotherapists to supervise their clinical work.

Other allegations that emerged in court include Dr. It included Plimmer sending photos of himself with his head in a noose to a colleague. He also reminded her of a scene from the Futurama cartoon series, telling her: “There are suicide booths. Maybe this is what you need, you should go do it.”

Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), Dr. He concluded that Plimmer’s “pattern of sexually motivated behavior” was “deplorable” and “brings the medical profession into disrepute.” He has since appealed.

To read IThe full investigation into rogue therapists: Sex with patients, drugs and drunks at work: The ‘Wild West’ world of unregulated therapy

When I Paper, Dr. He approached Plimmer posing as a potential client seeking anxiety treatment and offered a free 20-minute initial phone consultation. He signed the emails as “Dr Thomas Matthew” or “Tom”.

When I Paper asked him if he was a doctor, to which he replied that he was “not currently registered and I am not currently practicing medicine.” The website states that he used to be a general practitioner, but it does not disclose that his license to practice medicine has been revoked. “I am now dedicated to helping people,” he writes on his website.

Later I Paper came to Dr. Paper to respond to the decision against him and to comment on his work as a therapist. He appealed to Plimmer. Plimmer said he takes patient safety “very seriously.” He said he had a clear criminal record and that none of the allegations against him were related to patients. “I completed the course on maintaining professional boundaries,” he said.

Dr Plimmer said the panel in its misconduct decision did not consider his remarks about suicide to be “malicious” and concluded that “the risk to patient safety is low”. The board also did not consider it to be proven that he abused his position of seniority over his colleague.

When it was reported that Dr Plimmer had been dismissed, one of her female complainants hailed the removal of her medical license as “a message to a much wider audience that abuse of power will not be tolerated”. Another complainant added: “Women’s voices will be heard.”

But Dr Plimmer’s case reveals what campaigners call a dangerous gap in the mental health system: because psychotherapy is not regulated Not only can therapists continue to work after being found guilty of misconduct, but fired doctors can still become therapists or counselors.

“This case demonstrates a clear problem of inequality between mental and physical health,” therapist and campaigner Amanda Williamson told The Guardian. I Paper. “Why would it be right for a doctor whose medical license has been revoked to treat people for mental health?

“That’s why we need the state to regulate psychotherapy and counseling, so that there are rules governing anyone working as a therapist, and that anyone who is laid off cannot continue to treat psychotherapy clients, whether they were laid off as a doctor or a therapist.”

Medicine is tightly controlled through legal regulations that ensure all doctors have a minimum standard of qualification, training and experience. They could be banned from practicing if found guilty of misconduct, with their medical licenses revoked.

However, in psychotherapy there is only voluntary regulation. Some private psychotherapy organizations are registered with the voluntary accreditation system run by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), but therapists do not need to be members of any organization or accredited with the PSA to practice.

A broader investigation from the I The article found that therapists whose memberships in professional bodies had been revoked continued to advertise their services as therapists and treat vulnerable patients. This punishment came after he was punished for violating the basic ethical principles of psychotherapy, including taking care of patients, financial exploitation, and sexual abuse.

In the absence of legal regulations for therapists, there are no legal or regulatory barriers preventing therapists from working.

If you are affected by the issues in this article and would like to speak to someone, you can contact Samaritans on 116 123.